Splices of electrical conductors generally must be insulated and sealed for environmental protection of the connection. A variety of enclosures have been devised into which the spliced conductors are disposed after the connection has been completed. An example of such an enclosure is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,183,302 in which an elongate casing comprises a pair of semicylindrical clamshell members joined axially along an integral hinge and together define a cavity into and along which the in-line spliced connection of two wires is disposed. The clamshells are rotated together about the connection and latched together, with the wires extending outwardly of wire exits at each end at which an array of resilient strips engages the insulation of the respective wires. Pairs of resilient internal tabs are said to preclude any substantial longitudinal movement of the splice connection within the casing, by abutting the ends of the connector in which the ends of the conductors are spliced by crimping. The casing may include a sealant material therewithin for sealing the exposed conductors of the wires from the environment.
Other splice enclosures are disclosed for use with in-line splices such as: U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,575 containing gel and secured together with clips about the periphery; U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,582 containing a layer of mastic sealer lining the in-line groove and latched-together cover halves; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,099,088 comprising a transparent vacuum molded plastic sheet bendable about an axial hinge and containing opposed reservoirs of gelled photocurable sealant, and including bendable wire-engaging portions at the wire exits.
Still others are disclosed for use with in-line splices and including various mechanisms for generating biasing force of the sealant material against the sealed conductive surfaces of the splice connection, and various mechanisms for securing the enclosure covers together, as in U.S. Pat. No. 4,550,220 having a flexed plastic cover containing a foam sealant core and latched by interlocking edges; U.S. Pat. No. 4,610,738 including a bolt and nut arrangement for securing the splice in position, an organizer for use with multiple spliced connections, and external spring clip fasteners; U.S. Pat. No. 4,849,580 having an internal convex spring plate; U.S. Pat. No. 4,859,809 having an external spring surrounding deformable cover halves; U.S. Pat. No. 4,963,700 with a pair of nestable convex cover halves clamped together by cooperable ratcheted surfaces; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,573 having an external captive spring about the cover halves and disclosed to be especially useful for coaxial cable splices to be buried.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,451,696 a sealant device is taught to include one or more compression buttons which when compressed after application about a cable splice, causes the sealant through hydraulic pressure to completely fill all voids which may exist within the enclosure, forcing the sealant around and along the splice connector bolt and the wires. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,795,857 is disclosed a housing having wire exits at a common end, and including frangible dams at the wire exits to maintain the gel sealant within the housing half-sections during filling, and which are crushed by the cables when the two half-sections are pressed together about the spliced wire pair; aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 5,173,573 also discloses a thin breakout portion or array of resilient gripping fingers at a wire exit serving to maintain the gel sealant within the half-sections and engage and be deflected by the cables upon application about the splice.